Shepard Brook

By Vermont standards, this is an unusually long and continuous creek run on a major tributary of the Mad River, runnable occasionally in the spring or after heavy rains.

NOTE concerning the July 10-11, 2024 flooding:

The adjacent watersheds of Shepard Brook and Dowsville Brook were severely impacted by this rain event, during which the Mad River crested at 13,300 cfs (on July 11). Rainfall in those watersheds was estimated at 7-8 inches. Two bridges on Shepard were badly compromised, with sagging concrete bridge decks, and had to be closed the day of the flood. The river-right side of Randell Road just upstream of one of those bridges has been the preferred boating put-in for several years. It is no longer accessible except via a more indirect route. (The other closed bridge is downstream at Airport Road.) No repair work is expected on those bridges in 2024 due to lack of available contractors and other pressing priorities for the town of Fayston.

More generally, Shepard's channel has been altered in major ways and its banks have been severely eroded and destabilized. Many trees have fallen across or into the brook in the weeks since the flood, during which there as been quite a bit of additional rainfall.

It is recommended that boaters avoid running Shepard Brook for the foreseeable future, while the town and local residents deal with the numerous short and long-term consequences of the flooding.

PS:  See the 7/18 flood damage update posted on the town of Fayston's website. Near the bottom of the page there are contact numbers and email addresses for anyone interested in volunteering to help with flood cleanup.